Roku introduces speakers for television
Affordability may be one of the new speakers’ greatest selling points.
Roku is tackling a new challenge, announcing Monday that it’s getting into the speaker business to save our living rooms from flat sound.
The firm has built a reputation for inexpensive, simple television accessories and leads Amazon’s Fire TV, Google’s Chromecast and the Apple TV in the U.S. market. Roku said in May that one-quarter of all smart televisions purchased in the U.S. have Roku software built-in, thanks to partnerships with brands including TCL, Insignia and HiSense.
But Roku isn’t looking to compete with Amazon or Apple on speakers: the new $200 Roku device doesn’t have a voice assistant built in.
Instead of aiming to be the command center of the home, the Roku speakers are simply going for better sound. Lloyd Klarke, Roku’s director of product management, said Roku saw a need for speakers, because television makers have often had to compromise on audio quality in the pursuit of making thinner, flatter televisions.
Roku has opted to keep voice control limited to searching its own catalog of available shows and songs, which can be activated by pushing a button on its remote control. If you’d like to control your system from further away, the company has introduced a different type of remote control called the Roku Touch.
Roku, which went public in Sept. 2017, has plans to expand its brand beyond its own streaming devices. The company in January laid out ambitions to become more of a platform, saying that it will be licensing its name and software to other hardware manufacturers. But Klarke said, in this case, that Roku wanted to build these speakers itself, because it saw the opportunity to make something simple and affordable.
Affordability may be one of the new speakers’ greatest selling points. A pair of speakers, revamped remote and the Roku Touch will retail for $200 when the product launches in October. (Those who pre-order will get a lower price.) That’s half the price of the smart Sonos Beam soundbar, though about the price of other best-selling sound bars from competitors such as Yamaha.
Setting up sound devices can often be complicated. By making their own speakers to work with their TVs, Roku’s new speakers cans simply connect over WiFi. The only cord each speaker has is a power cord. The Roku speakers only work with televisions that have its software.
The speakers are still in an early stage of development, but Klarke said that they will equalize the noise coming out of your television - no more rushing for the remote during a surprisingly loud commercial. You will be able to turn the feature off, however, if you’re watching something and want to get the full effect of whispered dialogue or a huge explosion.